So this thing flew off on the highway (heat shield? Pic attached)

Andrew88

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2001 Accord, 4 cylinder 5 speed manual.






A friend said its no big deal, just have a mechanic weld it or bolt it back on. Is this true?

Obviously, I know very little about cars.:)

Thanks a bunch for any insight or clarification.
 

Bax

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Yeah it's just the heat shield to the catalytic converter. I'd put it back on, Idk what damage it will do leaving it off, but it was obviously put there for a reason.
 

BlkCurrantKord

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It's fine to just leave it off, just don't park over a pile of leaves or dry grass, lol.
 

jwong512

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It's fine to just leave it off, just don't park over a pile of leaves or dry grass, lol.

Wouldn't his cat rust if he left it off and drove over water? I would find someone to put it back on for you considering the cat gets insanely hot and I wouldn't want the heatsoak to be all over the car after I get out.
 

WHEEELMAN

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Take a closer look guys. The mounting points for the bolts are rusted away, gone. That's why it came off.


You gonna have to have it spot welded back on. However, those spot welds are probably going to rust and your cat shield is going to fall off again.



Yeah, the cat might rust a lil faster without the heat shield, but that thing has some thick metal in order to deal with the high temps it reaches. Also, there is another heat shield in the same location that is under the "tranny tunnel" or console area.

personally, id leave it off.
 

SykVSyx

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The amount of things that are put on cars that can be left off without issue is pretty extensive.

This piece is on that list, and you may find, depending on how low you are, that it will take a beating and start to rattle, prompting it's permanent removal anyway.
 
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